Q&A: Panellists clash over refugee medical bill

Ellie Shakiba, a refugee on Nauru, asked a hard-hitting question on Q&A this week as the two major political parties debate the refugee medical bill.

This week’s panel included Liberal MP Sarah Henderson and Labor MP Mark Dreyfus, who were both called out by Stephen Mayne, a self-described shareholder activist, for their party’s stance on the controversial bill.

The bill, if passed, will help people in offshore detention centres in need of medical attention by allowing them to be taken to Australia to receive treatment.

However, the government has asserted that by passing this bill, it would provide more incentive for people smugglers to bring asylum seekers over to Australia.

12 people have died in Australian detention centres over the last five years, with one death blamed on a delay in receiving a medical transfer.